Fabric Takes Stock With Allen & Heath

London-based nightclub Fabric has upgraded its existing live sound desk to a 32-channel Allen & Heath GL4800 multipurpose console. The club exclusively uses Allen & Heath mixers, and the new purchase—through London-based Autograph Sales Ltd.—is installed in Room Two, which hosts the live acts that perform weekly at the club.

The GL4800, loaded with the four extra stereos option, is the flagship model from the GL range, and will manage front of house and monitors for a wide range of acts from DJ/MCs to full rock bands. Room Two already has a 4-mono/6-stereo–channel Allen & Heath Xone:464 club mixer permanently installed, with Martin Audio speakers, JBL amps, and XTA and TC Electronic outboard equipment.

"Allen & Heath's GL range is superbly and simply designed, with all the tools in the right place and great sound to boot," comments Autograph's sales engineer Simeon Ludwell. "The GL4800 offers Fabric all it needs for their live acts —it's dual function, has plenty of channels, eight groups, 10 auxes, a big matrix and extensive monitoring system—so it can cope with any setup required by the artists performing at the club.

"The GL has a small footprint for a desk with this amount of functionality, and fits well into Room Two's snug booth area," Ludwell continues. "Also, the desk's dedicated recording output means the engineer is able to record the performance—an essential benefit for Fabric's record label, which frequently releases live albums in its collection."

Fabric's head of live sound, Roberto Pieroni, concludes, "We are completely devoted to Allen & Heath mixers, and have Xone DJ mixers, including the Xone:92, V6, 02, 62 and 464 models installed in all our rooms. They are the best-sounding, best-featured mixing products I've ever evaluated. It was the logical choice to select one of Allen & Heath's larger boards for our live acts."